How we get others to do what we want

IF YOU can stand the bad jokes and get past the irritating title, Flipnosis offers some powerful insights into the art and science of getting people to do what you want. Kevin Dutton, who lectures at the University of Cambridge, follows the vogue in popular psychology for trying to boil down complex behaviours into simple formulae. Apparently, the most successful persuasion involves five essential factors or traits - simplicity, perceived self-interest, incongruity, confidence and empathy - a blueprint Dutton describes as "the genome of the most powerful strain of influence on the planet".

Elsewhere he talks of uncovering a meta-cognitive "master key" to persuasion, and entertains the hope that scientists will one day isolate a "persuasion pathway" in the brain.

All this feels too good to be true and diverts us from what Dutton's collection of studies and anecdotes really demonstrates: that different methods work for different people in different contexts. It is not so much a book about "black-belt mind control" or "a special kind of persuasion", as the back cover claims, but more of a romp through decades of research into the psychology of social influence. Many of the classic studies are here, from Solomon Asch's experiments on the insidious effects of peer pressure to the myriad studies on "framing", which show that people will respond to the same request in different ways according to how it is put to them (and even where it is put to them).

You can't fault Dutton's eye for a good story, though. You'll meet his "flipnotists" - con artists, psychopaths and others with an uncanny ability to read people's emotions and push them just where they probably don't want to go. Then there are others with bizarre behavioural traits, such as a man convinced his reflection in the mirror is not him - so far no one has managed to persuade him otherwise.

As Dutton stresses, we're all equipped with the basic biology of influence. Just observe the way infants (and cats) push the essential buttons in their carers with a well-timed look or an irresistible cry to ensure their basic needs are met. What's less clear - and what most excites Dutton - is how we develop those skills in adulthood.

The book contains plenty of tricks to help you get your own way or turn around a sticky situation. For example, if you want to dissipate someone's anger, put them in a chair that's higher than yours. And sit on your hands. There's nothing like a gesture of subordination to quell someone's temper. It's worth reading Flipnosis for gems like these, but you'll have to wade through a thicket of hyperbole to find them.

Book information:Flipnosis: The art of split-second persuasion by Kevin DuttonPublished by William Heinemann£11.99